Strength in Numbers Lifts Huskies Over Pride, 63-51

HAMMOND, Ind. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team saw three players in double figure scoring, led by Alyssa Wypych, who scored 17 points to best Purdue Northwest, 63-51, inside the Kube Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon. 

Michigan Tech elevates to 8-8 overall and 4-4 in league play, while the Pride move to 7-10 overall and 2-5 in the loop. 

"I liked how we played today," head coach Sam Clayton said. "Defensively I thought we had some urgency and we game planned pretty well–their top two players still scored in double-digits–both had 21 points but we still did a good job on the defensive end. Our leaders stepped up again and it was good to see Alyssa playing with confidence and Alex didn't score a ton, but she still did a lot for us with hustle plays and got 10 rebounds. Lydia was a great spark for us offensively in the second quarter and Emma hit some shots and defended hard–everyone stepped up in different ways to contribute to the win."

Isabella Lenz and Katelyn Meister got the offense going in the first quarter, combining for 15 of the Huskies 21 first quarter points, helping the Black & Gold hold an 8-point advantage after one quarter of play.

Emma Anderson chipped in four points off the bench, while Alyssa Wypych drew a shooting foul on Mercedes Simmons at the 1:13 mark, to start her team-high scoring outing.

The Huskies hit a dry spell offensively in the second quarter, allowing the Pride to go on a 10-run to the 4:13 mark to regain the lead at 23-21. Sara Dax scored a layup out of a media timeout and Lydia Schaible came off the bench and quickly contributed with a rebound and a steal before hitting two shots to close out the first half with a 27-23 lead.

Wypych came up big for Tech in the third quarter, hitting two 3-pointers and an old-fashioned three-point play at the 2:31 mark to make it a seven point game (43-36). The Black & Gold outscored PNW 20-17 in the third quarter, with the big first quarter helping the Huskies sustain a multiple possession advantage.

MTU's largest lead came with under a minute to play following a free-throw by Wypych, who scored six-points in the final quarter to make it 63-49. Rondorf got a couple shots to fall in the final frame with four-points in the 4th quarter, with Lenz also chipping in four-points.

Wypych recorded her highest-scoring outing since her career-high 20 points against St. Cloud State on Nov. 26. Lenz was close behind with 15 points, with Meister rounding out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and nine rebounds. Rondorf was the Huskies top rebounder with 10 boards while chipping in five points and three steals.

Shaw Dash and Mercedes Simmons each scored 21 points to lead the Pride's offense. Mercedes also had a game-high 13 rebounds and recorded three blocks.

Up Next

The Huskies will travel east on US-41 for a tilt against Northern Michigan on Saturday, slated for a 1 p.m. tipoff inside the Berry Events Center.